Chinese New Year 2024: The festival is marked with pomp by many Asian countries.
(Also Read | Happy Chinese New Year 2024: Wishes, images, quotes, greetings, WhatsApp and Facebook status to celebrate Lunar New Year)
This year, the Chinese New Year falls on February 10. Generally, the festivities often last for 15 days, beginning a week ahead of the New Year. People make festive cakes and puddings to boost their growth in the upcoming year, hang red banners (Nian) at their homes, clean their homes, and hold family reunion dinners on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
A famous mythology says that there was a well-known underwater beast called Nian who used to crawl onto the land every New Year’s Eve to feast on human flesh and attack villages. It is said that Nian feared the colour red, loud noises, and fire. To ward off the monster, people put up red paper dragons on their doors, burned red lanterns all night and set off firecrackers. To this day, the Lunar New Year celebration is centred around removing bad luck and welcoming prosperity. Therefore, red is considered an auspicious colour to ring in the New Year. People dress up in red attire, decorate their homes with red paper lanterns and use red envelopes to give loved ones and friends money for the new year, symbolizing good wishes for the year ahead.
